Tanzania and her islands

With over 38% of its territory declared national park, game reserve, or conservation area land, Tanzania is home to some of the best game-viewing parks in Africa, from the legendary Ngorongoro Crater and it's 30,000 hooved mammals, and the Serengeti's amazing migration of around 2 million wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson's gazelle, to the lesser known, nearby parks of picturesque Tarangire with its annual elephant migration in the dry season, and Lake Manyara with it's birdlife, tree-climbing lions and elephants.

In the south, the giant Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park are a short flight from Dar-es-Salaam, Mikumi National Park is just a four-hour drive from Dar. In the west Katavi National Park is almost never visited despite plenitful lions and hufe buffalo and hippo herds, and Mahale Mountains NP offers what it probably the best primate encounter going. Click here to go to the Tanzania safaris page.

Compared to Kenya and South Africa, there are far fewer tourists in Tanzania, despite a huge number of animals. Part of the reason is perceived cost; Tanzanian safaris are generally considered more expensive than in neighbouring Kenya or the widely-marketed and well-known Kruger in South Africa. Yet this is a fallacy, as prices are certainly comparably with the best of the private concessions bordering the Kruger (where visitor density is much lower than in the pizza-palace-and-burger-bar-infested Kruger National Park main camps that are more like mass holiday resorts).

Pemba Island has arguably some of the best wall-diving in the world, certainly the best in Africa for variety, in a remote and captivating setting, often with less than 100 foreign visitors on the island at a given time. Unguja island (also known as Zanzibar island) is the more touristy and better-known destination, with good shallow reefs off Kendwa to the north-west and Mnemba Atoll to the north-east and some fabulous beaches, resorts, lodges and spas. Mafia, the most southerly of the three islands, has action-packed dives in the passes when the tide is moving and interesting topography, groupers and plenty of turtles on the east coast. From late October to March, Whale Sharks frequent the west coast and provide an excellent opportunity for snorkelling encounters. There is also a wonderful beach hideaway to the north of the island.

As well as diving and safaris, Tanzania also has some world-class treks: with some excellent less-used routes up the well-known and popular (possibly too popular) Mount Kilimanjaro to the roof of Africa at Uhuru peak, some 5895 metres above sea level, and the lower (4566 metres) but steeper Mount Meru. In addtion to all this, we can also organise trips or donkey treks to across the Ngorongoro highlands to Empakai Crater and through the Rift Valley to Lake Natron.

Pemba, Zanzibar, and Mafia

anemone crab on watch

arc eyed hawkfish

baby brittle star

beach

beaches kendwa beach is the longest in the north and is good for a long walk

beach deck

beach deck dining

beach deck 2

beach deck 3

bearded scorpionfish hogwarts 2

bifurcated flatworm

blue spotted stingray

bluefin trevally2

bommie end of the world

central stone town with part of the omani fort on the left from the house of wonders

chelsea gin

chelsea gin 2

children fishing

chromodoris africana

chromodoris geminus

chromodoris lochi on lattice coral

coral crab

coral whip goby and diver

coral whip goby manta reef

crab in barrel sponge

dakota dc3 first flown in 1943 and active on d day 1

dar fish market panorama

devil ray

dhow

dhow 2

diver at deep freeze

dolphin silhouette

durban dancing shrimp and eel

fishing dhow in a channel

fishing net caught on the reef becomes the reef

fishing pirogues

flatworm

forodhani gardens deserted in daylight become a hive of activity in the evenings with the food market

Underwater photo workshops

Sharks galore!

KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Schooling hammerheads for the fraction of the cost of the Galapagos, Cocos, or Malpelo, with tiger sharks, bulls sharks, oceanic blacktips and ragged-tooth sharks to boot. From Click here